13th anniversary

Happy 13th Anniversary!!

We've come a long way baby and I am so thankful for the grace given and accepted throughout these years together.

christmas morning

The night before

Christmas morning started in it's usual way except for one small bump, Connor was sick.  Bless the baby's heart, he got sick Christmas Eve afternoon and spent the night on the floor beside our bed.  He and Logan woke up around 7:00 and we finally woke Micah up at 7:30 who proclaimed it too early to open presents.  Of course that could be because at 10:30 the night before he was still too excited to fall asleep.  I mean my sister who sleeps more than any human I knew in life was up and at em at 5am every Christmas morning!

Once they were all cuddled up in our room we read the final chapter of our advent story, Bartholomew's Passage.  This is the second year we have read an advent story by this author and we have loved them both!  After the book Zach read the Christmas passage from Luke 2 and then we went to the living room to begin the stockings and presents.

Poor Connor just laid on the couch opening and looking but I was proud of his upbeat attitude.  He was very upset the day before about having to be sick on Christmas but he was a trooper!  Micah was our present hander outer this year and he did a fantastic job.  They were each surprised and excited about their gifts.  Their big gifts were roller blades for M and C, which they were super pumped about, and a big playmobil castle with knights for Logan which he LOVED.  Among the other things favored this year were tech decks, a top hat, a bow and arrow for Logan, new baseball bag for Micah, a good door basketball hoop, and a telescope for the family to share.

We never get to spend to much time home on Christmas Day because almost as soon as the opening is completed we have to pack up and make the trip to whichever family's turn it is, but it is a small price to pay for the ability to keep and make Christmas traditions with just our little family.

lifecycle building center

Five months ago we closed on our current home and have pretty much been in mid project the entire time since.  When you buy a circa 1950s home whose previous owners are 40 years your senior there are some slight differences in taste and style.  As of yet we've only had one really extensive renovation project with only one or two more on the list, but there are lots of little things I want to do to make this our home and have it reflect the comfortable, inviting place I imagine sharing with friends and family.  

Right now my current job pays me in hugs, kisses, thank yous and whining which means there's not a ton of money to purchase all the items one might drool over on various home store sites like restoration hardware, pottery barn, and joss and main to name a few of my frequently visited spaces.  It's a good thing that one of my absolutely favorite past times is shopping antique stores, flea markets, thrift stores, etc for furniture, decor and other raw materials that can be refurbished into useful and beautiful decor items.  

I was recently searching for a rug to cover the cold tile floor of a downstairs room currently being used as a playroom.  The only problem was that the room is a looonnnggg room and a rug that would fit the scale of the room was going to cost a ridiculous amount!  Even looking through all my usual stores and sites for discounted or low cost options would have still resulted in spending more than I would want on a rug where numerous children will be playing, coloring, eating and basically just mess making.   During one of my middle of the night can't sleep times, I decided to look on Craigslist in search of carpet remnants.  A short search later revealed a place that sold 10x20 remnants in various colors for $10.  Pretty much the best deal I would have ever found anywhere and I can't say I didn't at first assume it was a too good to be true situation, at least decorating wise.  A little more research led me to a lot more craigslist posts and to a website which caused excitement to abound and a shopping date being placed on the calendar.

After one rescheduled date day due to a feverish little boy, Zach and I were able to drive into the Atl to visit the Lifecycle Building Center and it took less than half a second to discover the too good to be true was actually a better than imagined.  We spent a good two hours slowly searching through piles of old windows, shutters, doors, reclaimed wood, lighting, flooring options all the while walking through a visually awesome old warehouse and wishing we weren't on a time crunch.

Before we left we were able to meet Adam the director of operations and creator/dreamer of the LBC.  He and Zach briefly chatted about how they got started, their current workings and a couple places they want to go in the future.  Packed in our car as we drove off was the 'rug' we came for, some lights for our house, two reclaimed wood pieces to be repurposed as a buffet table in the dining room and a piece of old pine wood floor that I will turn into a sign of some sort to either keep or sell.  We also left with tons of ideas, inspiration and a first experience of a place that will get frequent visits.  Thanks LBC!

sintelec photo shoot

Whilst we were in Romania, Zach and I had a photoshoot done.  Lanie Bruski's boyfriend, Andrei, is working to earn money to go to the university and was offering photoshoots for a donation.  We obviously took him up on it because how often does Zach get to be the one in front of the camera.  It was a very silly time as we cuddled, smiled, and practiced our best hipster straight faces at which we failed MISERABLY!  If you want a serious model I am not your girl.  Then there was that time Zach tried to save me from a tractor traveling 3 miles an hour.  He's such a hero.